May 23, 2011
US firm Dewey & LeBoeuf has boosted its UK private equity practice with the hire of two partners from Taylor Wessing. Mark Davis - the former private equity head at Taylor Wessing – and Russell Van Praagh are both set to join Dewey in London, where they will start a dedicated private equity practice.

Dewey London M&A practice head Stephen Horvath said: "We have hired them because they are two brilliant private equity lawyers and we didn't have a specialist group in this area in the London office. We do a lot of work in the area but you need to have the lawyers with the market reputation to win and maintain mandates. These partners have a very broadly based clientele and we have a London practice which is broad and very well able to support their practice."

Davis said: "Russell and I are both very excited by the opportunities that Dewey & LeBoeuf's international office network and top quality client base offer. Alongside these new prospects, there are a number of similarities between the firm's international presence and strategy and our own experience, which makes us certain that we will immediately feel a part of the global team."